The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018 after a dominant 125-94 Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, and Evan Mobley said the breakthrough was built on resilience developed over two grueling playoff series.
Mobley finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks at Little Caesars Arena as Cleveland overwhelmed the top-seeded Pistons with physical defense, rebounding and paint scoring.
“Fighting through adversity. Fighting through the hard times,” Mobley said after the win. “We dropped first two games and, we knew we had to bounce back. Came back home, won the next two. Kept that momentum going and I mean from there it’s just like a battle every single game, every single minute, every single second and I feel like we battled especially tonight we made the first punch and maintained that.”
The Cavaliers responded after falling behind 2-0 in the series and closed it with three wins in the final four games. Cleveland also survived a seven-game first-round series against Toronto, giving the group back-to-back Game 7 victories this postseason.
Mobley said the locker room celebrated the milestone briefly before immediately turning attention toward the New York Knicks, who swept Philadelphia in the semifinals.
“Everyone’s excited right now. We’re on to the next ready to go to New York,” Mobley said. “Everyone’s locked in. We’re going to celebrate this one for the time being and then tomorrow we’re right back to work.”
The All-Star forward added: “We got to definitely celebrate it and figure out we’re a final four team. But I mean job’s not done. We still got eight more wins to go.”
Jarrett Allen’s interior dominance helped set the tone for Cleveland. Allen finished with 23 points and seven rebounds while helping the Cavaliers win the rebounding battle 50-41 and outscore Detroit 58-34 in the paint.
Mobley praised Allen’s impact throughout the game.
“I mean shoot. He’s different player,” Mobley said. “His energy, his effort, his rebounding, drawing contact. I mean, he’s a great player. Whenever he plays like that, it’s a whole different team for us, for everyone else.”
Mobley also pointed to Cleveland’s collective mentality after surviving consecutive physical series against Toronto and Detroit.
“I mean, that we’re resilient,” Mobley said. “Things aren’t always going to be smooth. Honestly, we learned that last series. It’s second game seven now. So, we know it’s not going to be easy.”
The Cavaliers controlled Game 7 early, building a 31-22 lead after the first quarter before extending the margin to 64-47 at halftime. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, including 15 in the third quarter, while Sam Merrill added 23 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
Detroit, which completed a dramatic turnaround from a 14-68 season in 2023-24 to a 60-win campaign this year, shot just 35.3% from the field and committed 14 turnovers.
Mobley said Cleveland’s growth since previous playoff disappointments has shown up most in the team’s physical play and connected defense.
“I think we just we know what it takes,” Mobley said. “It’s a team effort and when we play as a team and we rebound, we play defense, we are all on a string, and then offensively we push the pace and play with force. It’s a great brand of basketball and we usually come out with wins.”
Cleveland will now face the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
